Hoosiers Pound Terrapins to Clinch Series Victory

Saturday, April 6

College Park, Md.

2:00 PM

Indiana University

Maryland

Hoosiers Pound Terrapins to Clinch Series Victory

4/6/2024 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Indiana Baseball team (18-14, 3-2 B1G) left no doubt that it came to play this weekend, dominating Maryland to the tune of a 14-2 victory on Saturday (April 6) afternoon at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium. Nick Mitchell hit a three-run home run in the first inning as IU led the entire way.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Connor Foley needed just the three runs of supports and ended up with 13. He threw six scoreless innings while striking out 10 batters. He gave up just one hit, an infield dribbler that snuck past his outstretched arm. On the season, he's got 64 punchouts and has a 3.21 earned run average.

The middle of IU's order, which stayed the same from Friday, continues to produce at a high level. Mitchell's home run kick started things but sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny (2), redshirt freshman first baseman Joey Brenczewski (2) and junior third baseman Josh Pyne (3) all had multi-hit days. Junior outfielder Carter Mathison also added a pair of hits from his leadoff spot.

Eight of the nine starters scored at least one run with Mitchell leading the way with three trips around the bases. Pyne drove in a game-high five RBIs, highlighted by a three-run blast in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach. Freshman second baseman Jasen Oliver saw his 13-game hitting streak come to an end but did reach base three times with two walks.

Even without the services of junior Brock Tibbitts, IU has found its groove offensively. The Hoosiers have scored 45 runs in its last three games. It's run of three-straight games with 14+ runs is the longest since 1992. It marks the first time IU has put up 14+ runs in consecutive Big Ten games since last year's series against Purdue (26, 15).

The Hoosiers' win marked the first series victory in College Park since 2019. A sweep of the hands of Michigan in 2019 was the last time, before this weekend, that Maryland had lost a Big Ten series at home. IU will look to cap off an impressive weekend with a sweep of the Terrapins. First pitch from College Park will be at Noon.

Scoring Recap
Top First
Nick Mitchell got behind in the count but waited on a 1-2 breaking ball that he took over the wall in right field to hand IU an early 3-0 lead.
Indiana 3, Maryland 0

Top Third
Joey Brenczewski's big weekend continued. He executed a two-out hit and run with Tyler Cerny, doubling to the left field wall to score another run for IU. Josh Pyne added to the tally, singling through the right side to score Brenczewski.
Indiana 5, Maryland 0

Top Fifth
Pyne added another RBI in the fifth. With the bases loaded, he hit a ground ball to the third baseman. Maryland tried to turn the double play but Pyne beat the throw to first. Mitchell came into score.
Indiana 6, Maryland 0

Top Sixth
IU hung a crooked number on the board in the sixth, batting all the way around the order and plating seven runs. Cerny opened the scoring with a two-run double into the right-center gap. It marked his sixth-consecutive multi-hit game. Jake Stadler hit a ball right at the shortstop. The ball was mishandled, allowing two more runs to score. Pyne made Maryland pay, hitting a three-run home run in the next at-bat to break the game open.
Indiana 13, Maryland 0

Top Eighth
Carter Mathison doubled into left field to score Pyne and add the 14th run of the day.
Indiana 14, Maryland 0

Bottom Eighth
Maryland picked up a pair of consolation runs late in the game. Chris Hacopian scored on a wild pitch before Kevin Keister grounded out to the shortstop to score Eddie Hacopian.
Indiana 14, Maryland 2

Top Hoosier Performers
#14 Foley, Connor
6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 10 K

#32 Pyne, Josh
3-5, 2 R, 5 RBI

#8 Cerny, Tyler
2-6, 2 R, 2 RBI

Notes to Know
• Tyler Cerny became the first Hoosier to 50 hits this year after his sixth-consecutive multi-hit day. He leads IU in hits (50), doubles (14), RBIs (38), batting average (.360) and multi-hit contests (17). He's now riding a team-best six-game hitting streak.

• Jasen Oliver's 13-game hitting streak came to an end. His final two at-bats resulted in walks which helped extend his on-base streak to 14 games. Oliver's hitting streak was sixth longest by an IU freshman since 2010. It was the best run since Josh Pyne (15) in 2022.

• Connor Foley struck out 10 batters for the second time this season and for the second time in conference play. He leads the Big Ten with 64 punchouts this year. IU's 7-1 in Foley's starts this season. He's allowed just 20 hits and has now pitched 13 scoreless innings in Big Ten play.

• IU has scored 14-or-more runs in all three games this week, beginning with a 16-run outburst against Indiana State on Tuesday. It's the first time IU's scored 14+ runs in three-straight games since the beginning of the 1992 season.

• Josh Pyne now has 188 career hits, 48 career doubles and 142 career RBIs. He needs two more doubles to move into the top-10 in school history. He's 12 hits from becoming the 24th member of the 200-hit club in IU's 130-year baseball history.

Up Next
IU will look to put the finishing touches on an outstanding weekend with tomorrow's contest against Maryland. First pitch is set for noon and can be streamed on BTN+ or heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.